Healthy People 2020 establishes national health care goals and interventions to improve the overall health of Americans. As the cost of medical care and the number of uninsured continue to rise, preventative strategies are implemented to improve the health of Americans. The purpose of this paper is to use the articles "Smoking breaks a thing of the past?" and "Flu deaths expected to rise." in the "Neighborhood News" to address public health issues. I have selected to address the following public health issues, smoking cessation and preventing a lethal influenza pandemic.

In the article, "Smoking breaks a thing of the past?" controversy is raised over a large corporation banning employees from smoking and threatening to terminate employees who chose to smoke. Smoking has been identified as by Healthy People 2020 as the single most preventable cause of death, disability, and disease; nevertheless more Americans deaths are caused by smoking each year than all the deaths caused from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol abuse, motor vehicle accidents, and murders combined (HealthyPeople.gov, 2011). Health risks associated with smoking include cardiovascular disease, respiratory disorders, and cancer. Smokers are more at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, bronchitis, and pneumonia. It is well known that smoking causes lung cancer, but it is also been linked to pancreatic and cervical cancer.

Businesses suffer considerable financial losses from employees who smoke. When comparing non-smoking employees with those who smoke, smokers are less productive. A considerable amount of work time is lost as a direct result from smoking, from smoking breaks to absenteeism because of illness. Large companies are requiring employees to stop smoking, reducing the cost of providing health care insurance and...

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